(Music) J. Cole – Middle Child

FILE, In this Oct. 1, 2016 photo, J. Cole performs at the 2016 The Meadows Music and Arts Festivals at Citi Field, in New York. J. Cole is set to perform at the BET Awards on Sunday, June 24, 2018. A person familiar with the awards show, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not allowed to discuss the plans publicly, tells The Associated Press on Friday, June 22, that the rapper will perform at the show. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)

J. Cole dropped his highly anticipated single “Middle Child” on January 23rd at 9 pm. Cole’s single has a lot of interpretations already, the biggest one being that he’s throwing shade at Kanye West. The lyrics making everyone believe this are: “If I smoke a rapper it’s gon’ be legit / It won’t be for clout / It won’t be for fame / It won’t be ’cause my shit ain’t sellin’ the same / It won’t be to sell you my latest lil’ sneakers.” The last two bars making it seem as he is. Cole has taken previous shots at Kanye before in his single “False Prophets”. The single also shows how Cole views himself in this generation of music. “I’m dead in the middle of two generations; I’m little bro and big bro all at once” These lines show how Cole is the “Middle Child” of generations. Stuck between the new age styles and the older more classic rap styles. Cole keeps trying to find new ways to stay balanced between the two generations and sales don’t lie, he keeps finding his balance.